Embedding a competency framework in a transnational organisation

A globally distributed, government-funded infrastructure organisation operating across borders faced a significant challenge: how to retain and progress its core workforce of over 10,000 staff while creating clarity and consistency around career development and performance management.

With personnel seconded from dozens of contributing nations, each bringing funding and talent, the organisation’s model was both unique and complex. Teams were formed across jurisdictions to solve high-priority multinational operational priorities, requiring staff to move fluidly between projects, departments, and regulatory environments.

But the organisation lacked a consistent approach to:

1. Career pathing and internal progression

2. Performance management and role clarity

3. Alignment across seconded, temporary, and permanent staff

Skill Collective was engaged for our ability to step back and see the bigger picture. We combine a grounded understanding of global workforce operations with deep expertise in designing future-ready talent systems.

Specifically, the organisation needed a partner who could:

• Design a flexible, responsive competency model that could adapt to the constantly shifting demands of internationally coordinated project teams

• Build in governance and control mechanisms to ensure the model remained aligned and credible

• Develop a solution that could embed across multiple HR functions, tools, and regions, without overwhelming an already stretched operating model

Delivered through Skill Collective’s three-phase model: Discover, Diagnose, Deliver. This engagement focused on designing and embedding a model that would evolve with the organisation.

Phase 1: Discover

Skill Collective started by assessing what was already in place:

• Existing role structures, career pathways, and governance

• Organisational alignment, capability, and capacity

• The cultural context and operational challenges across regions

This deep discovery phase helped us understand not just the technical requirements, but the organisational mindset and political dynamics that would make or break success.

Phase 2: Diagnose

Next, we gathered data through interviews, systems analysis, and a targeted questionnaire tool to understand:

• What mattered most to employees

• How managers interpreted performance

• Where capability gaps and organisational friction existed

From this, we designed a flexible model that could work across seconded, project-based, and permanent teams. The aim was not to force uniformity, but to enable shared language, consistent expectations, and room for adaptability.

Phase 3: Deliver

We designed and implemented:

• A live, dynamic competency framework toolkit for the organisation

• A tailored manager-specific framework toolkit to guide performance and development conversations

• A launch and comms plan to engage HR leaders, managers, and key stakeholders to ensure buy-in and adoption

Alongside this, Skill Collective supported the activation of the framework. We worked with HR VPs to create email campaigns, project plans, and community engagement tools. These efforts helped capture first-hand feedback and allowed us to adapt the approach where needed.

• A flexible, living competency model now in place across a complex, internationally coordinated organisation

• Strong alignment across HR functions, from recruitment to development and performance

• Clear governance and control structures to ensure data quality and sustained relevance

• High engagement through the launch, driven by tailored comms, education, and a clear articulation of value

• Positive qualitative feedback from HR leaders and end users, who now have a shared understanding of roles, progression, and expectations

This wasn’t just about implementing a framework. It was about building career clarity and performance consistency into a model that thrives on complexity.

The competency model is now helping cross-border teams form faster, work more effectively, and adapt to challenges. It also gives individuals clearer visibility on how to grow their careers in a truly global context.